Page 127 of Pervade London
“You counted?”
“Not consciously. That would be tedious. I can recall at will.”
“What must that be like?”
“I don’t know any different.”
My mouth went dry. “Something else.”
He tapped his hips against me. “You’re as bad as James.”
“I need this.”
“Remember our table at Hide? We sat near the window. Watched the commuters scurrying by.”
“It was raining.”
“Two inches fell.” He chuckled. “Two point four, to be exact.”
That was six months ago. I felt a chill through my bones.
“On the back wall of the bar were the spirits. I can tell you the amounts in each one, if you like. All twenty of them. The vodka bottle was empty. Rum half-full. Jack Daniels had a torn label from when the cap was opened. Wine bottles lined along the top of the bar. Ten of them. A row of white and then red. The barman had a lime stain on his tie. He checked his wristwatch seven times during the last hour of his shift. He looked like he was going to meet someone. He’d check his reflection too many times for him to be merely heading home that night.”
“Something else.” Hopefully something I would remember.
“The couple sitting to our left,” he continued. “Remember them? The woman wore red. She played with her silver cross necklace. Nervous. We’d guessed it was their first date.”
“I remember.”
“He received a text from his wife during dinner.”
“You saw that?”
“I saw her face. Then his. It was disappointment that he’d gotten caught. He’d already taken Viagra.”
“You saw that?”
“He went to the restroom to take it. The tablet needed several swigs of water to wash down when he got back to the table. The drug kicked in at the thirty-minute mark.” I turned my head to look back at him and he added, “His pupils dilated. He adjusted his trousers. Twice.”
At some point in the evening I remembered glancing over to see the woman in the red dress looking deflated. I’d guessed the dinner wasn’t going well. This fit my memory of it.
“She left after dessert,” said Xavier. “Took a cab. The advert on the side of the car was for the musicalWicked. The driver opened the door for her. Across the street a couple were arguing. A pedestrian was struggling with his umbrella. He never did open it in time for his Uber to arrive.”
“Tell me something else,” I said.
“You’re beautiful when you sleep.”
“You watch me?”
“It replaces my need for chess.”
“Oh, Xavier.”
“Want me to go on?”
“Maybe one more?”
“I know when you lose an eyelash.”
